Daytona

What is the story on this Daytona...I know you are asking yourself. Where did this Don Bradshaw guy find this treasure? Is it for sale? Is he restoring it? What are his plans for it? Well hopefully within the upcoming months the questions and more will be answered. Maple Leaf Mopars is proud to bring you Don's story on his EV2 Daytona Charger. Please check back from time to time on its progress. Here's the first installment:

In early June of 2002 I started to search for a Hemi car. In particular, I was looking for a Road Runner, as I had a 1968 383 car when I was in High School. It was a lot of fun to drive, and I never really got over selling it in 1978 ( I bought a new Corvette, and needed the money ).

I spotted an ad for a '69 Hemi Runner down in Kentucky. The engine was long gone, but it was a body with a 440 in it now, and the price was right. I flew down there within the week, but found the car had some corrosion issues, so I took a pass on it. I then spotted a Hemi Cuda rolling chassis for sale in the Vancouver area, but was disappointed to learn that I had missed it by a few days.

A friend told me about a small shop he had visited about 10 years ago in north western Nebraska, where he had spotted a Hemi Runner chassis beside the shop. It took a little doing, but I was able to track the shop's owner and location down. The owners name is name is Brad Parker, who is a bit of a legend when it comes to mopars. In his day, he worked on number of great cars, including Daytonas, Superbirds, and Cudas. He once owned a survivor Hemi Roadrunner, but he sold it in 1994 after a close call with a tornado which went through his town. The car wasn't even scratched, but the houses on the other side of the street where heavily damaged. Too close for comfort, so he sold it soon after. It was featured in the December 94 Mopar Collectors Guide ( while with the new owner ), if you want to check it out.

Brad and I hit it off pretty good right away. I inquired about the Hemi Runner rolling chassis beside his shop. He gave me the telephone number of the owner, who resided in New Mexico. I called him up and offered him $ 12k US for it, but he turned me down flat. After all, he had traded an oil pump for it many years ago and couldn't stand to part with it. Oh well ! I called Mr. Parker back and thanked him for the lead. I asked him to keep me in mind if he came across anything interesting for sale. About a week later, he called me back and asked if I was interested in a Daytona project. Seems he had one in the corner of his shop, covered with a tarp, for the last 10-12 years. It belonged to a friend who was a Secret Service Agent in Maryland, who was planning on having him restore it over time. ( Although I now know the former owner's name, I've never met him or spoken with him on the phone. How's that for secret ?? ).

I told Brad that I wasn't really all that interested in a Daytona, as they were a bit ugly, although my friend had one. After I got off the telephone from his call, I looked them up on the internet and discovered they were quite rare. I called Brad back and asked about the price. It was a bit of a shock, but I let him know that I'd be interested if the car was in reasonable shape. He advised that it was originally a Colorado car, and they believed that it was last licensed in 1980-81. The odometer showed 27,391 miles, and it has been inside his shop since about 1990. Prior to that, it was in New Mexico, where the present owner purchased it.

Right after I finished supper that night, I told my wife that I was heading to Nebraska, and packed a bag and headed off right then. I was in Hay Springs, Nebraska a day and a half later. As I suspected, Brad Parker was a great guy, and his description of the car was spot on. I made the owner an offer, which Brad passed along. By the time I heard back, I was already back in Saskatoon. We had a deal !!!

It was a hectic week following that. I had to wire the funds to the owner, who then faxed me a copy of the car's Title, which had to be faxed to the Border crossing at least 72 hours prior to bringing the car into Canada. Let me tell you that it was very hard to part with that much money. It was more than I paid for our first house.

On Saturday, August 3rd, 2002 I arrived back in Hay Springs, Nebraska with a trailer to pick up my treasure. We had it loaded in about 4 hours, and I headed home. With a loaded trailer and a crew cab truck piled to the brim with new and used parts, there was no way I could stop at a hotel, so I just drove through the night and arrived at the Border at about 2 am. Both US and Canadian Customs were a piece of cake, and I was on my way again in about 30 minutes.

The attached pictures show the car the way I received it. They're a little

deceiving, as it looks a lot better than it was. That gray primer is 12 +

years old.

I've been working on the car quite a bit, and things are moving towards completion, probably the end of February 2003. The engine and tranny are the next things to be overhauled and installed. Once they're in, I'll install the nose and hood, and then apply the clearcoat to the entire car.

The new interior is in ( seat covers, headliner, carpet, and package shelf ) as is the dash and console. I rewired everything forward of the firewall, as the wiring was pretty stiff after all these years. I also replaced all of the old vacuum lines. I've been looking around for a new voltage regulator which looks like the original one. So far, the only ones I've found are a solid-state version which look completely different. Other than that and the three speed wiper, everything under the hood is new/rebuilt. I replaced all of the brake slave cylinders, as well as all of the pads and springs. ( I should have started off this project by owning an oil well !! ).

I had to disassemble the nose to properly prep and paint it. I'm not sure whether you've ever had to take one apart, but if the opportunity comes up, take a pass - it's a bit of a nightmare.